Metal News for June 24, 2007

We post metal news every day, throughout the day, covering thousands of metal bands including underground and unsigned bands. You are currently browsing the news archive, but you can also find news by band.

Khann has added a second guitarist to their line-up. Joining the group is long-time friend, Matt Sutton. Meanwhile, Khann will tour this summer with The_Network, Romans, and SWAATS. Dates are currently being finalized.

California's The Orangeburg Massacre will apparently disband this month. The group has sent out a Myspace bulletin with the following message: "We have decided to call it quits. Our last show is June 7th in Phoenix, Arizona." Additional information has yet to be disclosed.

Formed in 2004, the band released a full-length with Pluto Records last November.

LA's Five Finger Death Punch have released an e-card online in support of their upcoming album "The Way of the Fist."

As previously reported, Five Finger Death Punch have officially inked a deal with Firm Music, a branch of the highly successful entertainment talent management company, The Firm. The band will release their debut opus, THE WAY OF THE FIST worldwide on July 31, 2007.

THE WAY OF THE FIST was recorded at Next Level Studios by Stevo "Shotgun" Bruno (MOTLEY CRUE, PRONG) and at No Name Studios by Mikey Sarkisyan (SPINESHANK) with mixing and mastering duties being handled by Logan Mader (MACHINE HEAD, SOULFLY).

Next week, two albums by Taiwan's premier metal act ChthoniC – dubbed the "Black Sabbath of Asia" by their home country's largest newspaper, and soon to be the first-ever Asian act to take part in Ozzfest – will finally be released in North America. "Relentless Recurrence," initially released in 2002, and last year's "A Decade On the Throne" live double album/DVD will continue the momentum started by the acclaimed "Seediq Bale," the group's first American release.

The music of ChthoniC (pronounced THON-ick) focuses in part on the history of the Taiwanese people. The band has even christened its upcoming international tour – which will commence in suburban Seattle when the group kicks off the summer's first Ozzfest – "UNlimited," in part to protest how the United Nations (UN) limits Taiwan's full participation as an independent country. (Visit www.myspace.com/ChthoniCtw for more on "UNlimited ChthoniC, UNlimited Taiwan.")

Set to a riveting soundtrack of symphonic black metal, Relentless Recurrence relays a Taiwanese folk tale about a demonic ghost hell-bent on revenge. Like the group's other recordings, the album sees ChthoniC use a Hena, a traditional Asian instrument comparable to a violin, to emphasize the legend's sorrow and grief. Meanwhile, A Decade On the Throne is an engrossing live double album/DVD set recorded before a sold-out crowd in the band's home country, and features guest performances by the so-called Oriental Orchestra as well as the Taipei Ladies' Choir. It will be released in a lavish digibook with special artwork and a velvet covering. More...

California metal band Name was involved in a serious van accident this weekend. Here's an account of incident from the band:

"We were heading out on tour and our back left tire blew out and sent us rolling our van and all our equipment 7 times from the freeway down the hill. We lost our van and a lot of merch and equipment and were all hospitalized. We still look to tour and make some major announcements regarding members and tour plans in the band. But about the crash, we are left with nothing and we need to buy new equipment, a new van, and medical bills. We are going to set up a PayPal soon in hopes to get a bit of help with the van situation from fans."

Nick Wellner, frontman for Minnesota hardcore/metal outfit After The Burial, has officially announced his departure from the group. Here's his statement:

"After much deliberation I have decided to part ways with After the Burial. I love these guys and this decision is not personal in the least. We all need to do what makes us happy in life and touring extensively for a living is not the life I want. I don't want to hold them back so it's best I get out while I still can. I want to be here in the TC with my family and friends, and play music here. I will be doing the last few shows we have listed (6/28, 7/7, 7/22).

I will be continuing on drums in The Harlan and I will be starting a new hardcore project doing vocals; think With Honor, Sinking Ships, Comeback Kid. I will miss all of my out-of-town friends that I have made along the way, but I will see you when you come through the Twin Cities. For all you Midwest folk, we have these last few shows, so let's make them count! Twin Cities kids, watch out for the new project, stage dives and pile ons up your ass, let's make something amazing together. Please keep an eye and ear open for my last hometown show, I hope to see you all there!"

Spitfire will enter the studio on July 9th to begin recording a new album for Goodfellow Records. Tracking will take place at Trax East. in South River, New Jersey and the effort has been titled "Cult Fiction."

Genghis Tron will release a limited edition, tour-only EP while on the road in July. Titled "Triple Black Diamond," the release will feature live tracks, remixes, a demo of a new track, and reinterpretations of material from the group's "Dead Mountain Mouth" album. The band sums up the effort in this manner: "the EP will be similar in packaging to our last tour EP, 'Cape Of Hate,' only this time it will have way better shit on it and the art is even more killer."

Two more bands have been confirmed for the Magic Circle Festival. IMPERIA and SAIDIAN will both perform on Friday, July 6th 2007.

Unfortunately GALAXY had to cancel their performance at the Magic Circle Festival due to visa and immigration complications. However Galaxy would like to say to all metal fans that they will find a way to make it up to them in the future.

IMPERIA is an atmospheric metal band who's sound is especially evident by the distinguished and remarkable strong voice of Helena Iren Michaelsen (ex-Trail Of Tears), who sings in a variety of styles from deep emotional feelings to extreme operatic expressions. The music is full of vivacity, it is heavy, bombastic and orchestral, but it also contains elements of pure metal. The band is a true cross-border unit of musicians originating from different countries: Norway, Finland, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. Through hard work and extensive touring the band has earned its reputation as a powerful live band.

SAIDIAN is Germany’s Melodic Metal sensation from 2005. They will be promoting their latest record "Phoenix," which features headbanging tracks, fantastic guitar work, an ass-kickin rhythm section and outstanding vocal performances of singer Markus "Angel" Engelfried.

Megaforce Records and metal/hardcore pioneers S.O.D. will release Rise Of The Infidels, on August 21, 2007. It is an extended EP (perhaps the longest in the music biz) with four unreleased S.O.D. songs, plus a live concert from Seattle is included.

One of the crucial bands in the musical chain linking hardcore punk with metal, the Stormtroopers of Death - known as S.O.D. - were actually intended to be a one-off side project, done as a lark.

S.O.D. began in the mid-1980's during a break in the recording of Anthrax's Spreading The Disease. What started out as a quick, satirical release for Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Dan Lilker, and the infamous Billy Milano, S.O.D. has turned into a seminal band influencing countless hardcore, metalcore, and post-hardcore bands. Their first album, Speak English Or Die, has sold over 400,000 and remains an underground classic. S.O.D. was always about brutal satire, but done with complete honesty.

Nevermore frontman Warrel Dane is scheduled to enter the studio in early August to begin recording his solo debut, tentatively due in early 2008.

In a September 2006 interview with Metal-Rules.com, Dane stated about the upcoming solo CD, "I've been working on it for like the last year off and on, just writing songs with Peter Wichers, and at some point we'll finish them then go in the studio . . . It doesn't sound like Nevermore, and I think, you know, if it did, there wouldn't be much point in doing a side project. If it sounded like Nevermore I think it would be a little redundant . . . Of course it's metal! Kind of like metal-infused hard rock, I think. It's different and it's a chance for me to explore myself — explore myself in other ways! [laughs] Well, for me, and for Peter from Soilwork as well, it was kind of a chance for us both to 'step outside the box,' because people expect a certain thing from both those bands and with this we don't have to fulfill any expectations. We can do whatever we want."

Dane stated a year ago that his solo debut would include an appearance by Warrel's former Sanctuary (pre-Nevermore) bandmate Dave Budbill (Zerocreep) on drums.

Ex-Soilwork guitarist-turned-producer Peter Wichers has issued the following update:

"Well I must admit that it is nice to be back East after being in LA for a while. Nashville feels a lot like Sweden in many ways and me and the family love it already.

I am taking some time off for the summer to spend with my family and once we come back I plan on finding a place to set up a small studio to track the future projects that I'm working on.

The Warrel Dane solo record is planned to start in the first week of August and as of now I have written about eight together, and Warrel is also collaborating with Matt Wicklund (Himsa) for a few songs.

Keep checking in from time to time on my MySpace because I plan on putting up a sample of the new Nuclear Blast album that I just finished.